Haunted Mansion (Disneyland Park)
The Haunted Mansion is a popular Omnimover dark ride at Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in California. It is one of the three attractions at New Orleans Square. The attraction opened on August 9, 1969. History The attraction's history dates back to the days before Disneyland was even built. The first known park illustration included the main street, green fields, Western village, and a carnival. One of the Imagineers created a sketch of a crooked street leading away from the main street by a church with a graveyard, and a run-down mansion perched on a hill above the main street. It was scrapped from opening day plans, but Walt Disney said to transform the story even more. Finally, in the early 1960's, the ride was decided to be put in New Orleans Square. In 1961, the ride began advertising with a planned 1963 opening. The construction of the mansion itself began in 1962, but construction on the interior was delayed to give the park a time to help finish the New York World's Fair. Finally, the ride opened to guests on August 9, 1969, after a six-year delay. Summary Queue In the queue, you see a pet cemetery that is the front yard of the mansion. It features gravestones and a horse apparition drawn hearse. Stretching Gallery/Room The first room you arrive at in the mansion is the Stretching Room, where you hear your tour guide, the "Ghost Host", voiced by Paul Frees. You are inside a weird room that consists of stretching portraits of some of the ghosts in their "corruptive mortal state". And no, you do not get on your doombuggy vehicles yet. Beware! This room has no doors and no windows (just kidding)! As the portraits are stretching, the ghost host interrupts you with a "scary" moment (a ghost hangs from the ceiling in eerie darkness). Then, you leave the room and enter the Hall of Portraits. Hall of Portraits You are in the room of changing portraits when getting on your doombuggy. To your left, you see a window with a raging storm outside. To your right, you see about eight portraits that change to "scary pictures" and back to normal once the thunder roars and the lightning strikes. One of them is a woman who turns into Medusa. Another is a horseman on his horse turning into a skeleton man on his skeleton horse. Another is a sailboat turning into a horror-themed sailboat on dark waters. Two busts are at the end of the hall, you turn right once you see them, and their eyes are following you wherever you go. Then, you get on your doombuggies, small, black, comfortable private vehicles that you tour the mansion on. Endless Hallway and Conservatory The first room you enter in your doombuggy is the endless hallway. You are greeted by a knight that moves slightly. You see a large hallway that appears to be endless (there is actually a mirror at the end of the hallway, creating that illusion) with a singular floating candelabra at the end (which are actually attached to strings holding them). You trail forward a bit, then turn 180 degrees to your left. There you will see a coffin with a crow on top of it, and a ghost inside trying to push the top up saying, "let me out of here...l-l-let me outta here!" Corridor of Haunting Doors Right after the conservatory, you will enter a narrow hallway which features old wooden doors with door knocks on them that knock themselves, and to the left, pictures of a ghostly family. On your right, there is also a famous sign reading "Tomb Sweet Tomb". At the very end of the hallway, there is a 13-hour grandfather clock with a shadow of a monster's hand over it. Next to the clock is a door to a famous dark room on the ride which you proceed into. Seance Circle Once you exit the Corridor of Haunting Doors, you enter a big room with black walls that appears to go around in a circle. On these walls, you see a trumpet, violin, drums, and a clarinet playing the Haunted Mansion's theme song, "Grim, Grinning Ghosts". On your right is the centerpiece of the whole room, the fortune teller, Madame Leota (a woman's head inside of a crystal ball, voiced by Eleanor Audley). She is reciting her famous chant to materialize spirits, as she floats gracefully around the room off a wooden table with a chair next to it (that a crow is also perching on). After you revolve in a full circle, you enter a small part of darkness and emerge into a huge ballroom. Ghostly Grand Ballroom Now, you are looking down on a big, magnificent, ballroom filled with ghosts. The Ghost Host has to leave because he is invited to the ballroom party going on downstairs. At the right of the ballroom, there is a table with ghosts sitting down and dining. Visitors with sharp eyes can spot the hidden Mickey on the table, made of one large plate and two small plates for the ears. Then, on the walls, there are picture frames that ghosts appear out of and then disappear. To the left, there is a dance floor with ghostly couples waltzing to the music playing from the organ next to it. The Ghostly Grand Ballroom Organist is playing this organ to the tune of a familiar song. These ghosts were all made using the "Pepper's Ghost Illusion" using brightly colored animatronics and a big, bright beam of light reflecting through a glass. Attic Right after The Ballroom, you enter the mansion's attic. First, you see paintings of the same bride with the five grooms she has married. The groom's heads vanish as you pass each portrait. Then, you hear the taunting voice of the bride and you see her ghostly blue form as you are exiting the attic. She is Constance Hatchaway, the "Black Widow Bride" voiced by Kat Cresida. She wields a small hatchet while reciting her wedding vows. "Here comes the bride, For better or for...worse, In sickness and in...wealth, As long as we both shall live..., till death... do us part..., I do, I did. You may now kiss the bride, We'll live happily ever...after. Constance was added in the recent 2006 revamp. Graveyard After the attic, you enter a dark, black-grassed graveyard where you hear a whole musical sequence going on. You go downhill a little bit and then see the scared caretaker with his whimpering dog. The caretaker and his dog, besides the crows, appear to be the only living creatures on the ride. Father, ahead you see a ghostly band to your right, playing the tune to "Grim Grinning Ghosts ". They each play the violin, accordion, trumpet, and flute. Turning right you spy the expressive faces of five phantoms singing "Grim Grinning Ghosts ". The lead singer, Uncle Theodore, voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft, has his head broken off of the bust. You turn right and keep proceeding and see the other ghosts in the graveyard singing to the tune. Such ghosts are two ghosts at a tea party, one opera singer, an executioner with his victim's head, and two ghosts on a teeter-totter. Occasionally, small ghosts will pop up behind their graves. Towards the end of the graveyard your ghost host returns and warns you to "Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts!" Exit Crypt As you enter the crypt, you will see your hitchhiking ghosts in front of a cave wall pointing left. Then, you turn left, turn around and encounter three mirrors. Looking into these mirrors you will find that one of the ghosts in the entrance to the crypt has hitched a ride with you. Soon after the mirrors, you disembark, and go up an escalator while watching the "Little Leota" (voiced by Leota Tombs) saying to hurry back to the Haunted Mansion and obtain a "death certificate". Haunted Mansion Holiday In 2001, the park introduced an overlay of the attraction for the park's holiday season, Haunted Mansion Holiday. Guests are given a tour of what the Mansion looks like for the Christmas season, with Jack Skellington from Disney's 1993 film ''The Nightmare Before Christmas. ''The ride's interior is changed with animatronics based off some characters, and various scenes are changed to fit the new theme. On the exterior, large banners and Christmas decorations are festively hung. The ride was also duplicated in Tokyo Disneyland. Gallery Category:Attractions in Disneyland Park Category:New Orleans Square Category:Dark Rides Category:Disneyland Park Category:Scary Rides